Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Fiat Ducato 2009: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 76 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2009 Fiat Ducato were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

The 2009 Fiat Ducato follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,432 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
76 in every 100
Did not pass first time
24 in every 100819 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
16 yearsabout 41,544 miles
First tests counted
3,432

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Diesel engine warning light8 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2009 Fiat Ducato vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Noise, emissions and leaks

Two faults. The strongest is the diesel engine warning light: 9.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 815 of 819 failed first attempts (99.5%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 67 first tests9.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)

Failed on 59 first tests6.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

Three faults. The strongest is the brake efficiency below minimum (roller test): 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 22 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Service brake efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and efficiency less than half of the required value is graded Dangerous. On a roller brake tester, if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock, the efficiency requirement for that system counts as met.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 109 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Failed on 37 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the rear fog light: 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Rear fog light

Failed on 36 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 33 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

Number plate lights

Failed on 40 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Headlight (front)

Noted on 26 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
76in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
20in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 76.1% of 3,432 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 80.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 20 not fixed make the 24 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100199520002005200920152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100200020092020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 77 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199551 in every 100344
199657 in every 100598
199758 in every 100801
199854 in every 1001,024
199956 in every 1001,254
200061 in every 1001,454
200157 in every 1001,710
200262 in every 1002,014
200363 in every 1003,004
200463 in every 1003,691
200565 in every 1004,271
200668 in every 1004,175
200771 in every 1004,893
200875 in every 1004,784
2009 This car76 in every 1003,432
201078 in every 1003,260
201178 in every 1003,073
201280 in every 1002,494
201380 in every 1002,194
201481 in every 1002,313
201583 in every 1002,722
201682 in every 1002,667
201782 in every 1002,027
201884 in every 1001,837
201983 in every 1002,010
202088 in every 1001,917
202189 in every 1001,970
202288 in every 1001,031

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2009 Ducato.

Of 2009 Ducato vehicles with under 30,000 miles, 83 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 60,000 miles or more, 64 in every 100 did.

Under 30,000718 tests
83
30,000–38,000698 tests
82
38,000–46,000 Typical car647 tests
77
46,000–60,000659 tests
76
60,000 and over702 tests
64

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 30,00038,000–46,00060,000 and over
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)1.81.77.7
Headlight aim2.11.73.4
Diesel engine warning light1.91.72.8
Windscreen washers1.41.23.3

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

41in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

34in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

3in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2009 Fiat Ducato follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 76.1% of 3,432 first MOTs on the 2009 Fiat Ducato passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 80.3%. Among 819 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Diesel engine warning light appears more often than on similar cars (8.2% of those tests; 67 observed failures; about 9.8× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2009 Fiat Ducato at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (13.4%), Headlight aim (9.2%) and Diesel engine warning light (8.2%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Diesel engine warning light (8.2% of those tests; 67 observed failures; about 9.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Diesel engine warning light shows up more often than on similar cars (8.2% of those tests; 67 observed failures; about 9.8× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2009 Fiat Ducato include Diesel engine warning light, Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Rear fog light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2009 Fiat Ducato (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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